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IW-NET

Innovation driven collaborative European inland Waterways transport Network

inland waterway

Objective of the project

IW-NET will deliver a multimodal optimisation process across the EU Transport System, increasing the modal share of IWT and supporting the EC’s ambitions to reduce transport GHG emissions by two thirds by 2050. Enablers for sustainable infrastructure management and innovative vessels will support an efficient and competitive IWT sector addressing infrastructure bottlenecks, insufficient IT integration along the chain and slow adoption of technologies such as new vessel types, alternative fuels, automation, IoT, machine learning. The Living Lab will apply user-centred application scenarios in important TEN-T corridors demonstrating and evaluating the impacts in simulations and tests covering technological, organisational, legal, economical, ecological, and safety/security issues:

1) Digitalisation: optimised planning of barge operations serving dense urban areas with predictive demand routing (Brussels-Antwerp-Courtrai-Lille-Valenciennes); data driven optimisation on navigability in uncertain water conditions (Danube).

2) Sustainable Infrastructure and Intelligent Traffic Management: lock forecasting reducing uncertainty in voyage planning; lock planning; management of fairway sections where encounters are prohibited; berth planning with mandatory shore power supply and other services (hinterland of Bremerhaven via Weser/Mittelland Canal).

3) Innovative vessels: new barge designs fitting corridor conditions and target markets: barges with a high degree of automation for urban distribution (East Flanders-Ghent); new barge for push boats capable with low/high water levels optimising capacities (Danube from Austria to Romania); use of GALILEO services for advanced driver assistance like guidance, bridge height warning and automatic lock entering (Spree-Oder waterway close to Berlin).

Accompanying activities are stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and the delivery of a European IWT development roadmap with policy recommendations for increasing the IWT share.

Discover a movie explaining the results of the IW-NET Application Scenario on Intermodal urban last-mile transport with track&trace:

And a small nod to the Multitel team that is at the helm of our demonstration, with its partners IT-Optics and Coventuris, at the project’s Final Event, held in the port of Ghent on October 12, 2023:

Discover the good vibes of the IW-NET Final Event:

Contribution of Multitel

Multitel will lead the following tasks, “AS1 Application and testing of advanced digitalization technologies” (T4.2); “Verification of the Living Labs business case blueprints, with quantitative assessment of KPIs per use case and Reference IW-Net Solutions” (T4.5).

Applications

Multimodal logistics, Inland Waterways Transport

Coordinator

Partners

  • MULTITEL (Belgium)
  • INLECOM GROUP (Belgium)
  • BLUE LINE LOGISTICS (Belgium)
  • INSTITUTE OF COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS (Greece)
  • UNIVERSITE POLYTECHNIQUE HAUTS-DE-FRANCE (France)
  • INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DE ARAGON (Spain)
  • EUROPEAN INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT(IWT) PLATFORM (Belgium)
  • FH OO FORSCHUNGS & ENTWICKLUNGS GMBH (Austria)
  • AIT AUSTRIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GMBH (Austria)
  • SKILLZ - STRATEGIE, BERATUNG, BETEILIGUNG GMBH (Austria)
  • TTS (TRANSPORT TRADE SERVICES) GMBH ( Austria)
  • NAVROM SHIPYARD SRL (Romania)
  • VLTN GCV (Belgium)
  • NEW GENERATION SENSORS SRL (Italy)
  • NOTHEGGER TRANSPORT LOGISTIK GMBH (Austria)
  • DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EV (Germany)
  • ALBERDING GMBH (Germany)
  • KONNECTA SYSTEMS LIMITED (Ireland)
  • STICHTING SMART FREIGHT CENTRE (Netherland)
  • KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN (Belgium)
  • OPLEIDINGSCENTRUM VOOR HOUT EN BOUW VZW ( Belgium)
  • LE PORT DE BRUXELLES (Belgium)
  • ANZBOCK RICHARD (Austria)
  • IT-OPTICS (Belgium)
  • BREMENPORTS GMBH & CO KG (Germany)

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